In November 2008 "Diners Drive-ins and Dives; An All American Roadtrip with recipes" was published. This book quickly became a best seller and I made sure to get myself a copy. The book has a list of all the places that Guy has visited (at the time of printing) and also features some of the locations that he has visited and includes some of the recipes of the meals that were shown on the show. The book became a constant companion of mine as soon as I got it.
As the new year began I knew there were alot of places all over the country I wanted to try. The show is so enjoyable and fun to watch that I really wanted to try them all (everyone says that and is probably impossible to someone like me) but I really wanted to get around. As I have said in earlier blogs, I love to take cruises and for the past three years I have taken a cruise around the Super Bowl, you can't beat watching the big game while crusisng the warm waters of either the Atlantic or Caribbean! I arrived two days before the big game and just know I had to get back to Scully's! I was cruising with my friends Jeanne and Leslie and since Jeanne flew in early and we had several hours to kill before Leslie arrived I told Jeanne that we had to go to Scully's. I felt home as I walked back in and took my seat at the bar and had the same waiter. I had such fond memories of both Scully's and the staff there that in a moment of genius I thought I need to get Scully's owner Chris to sign my DDD book. He signed on his photo and a new tradition for me had begun, since then I have tried to get someone form the location to sign my book. Ideally I would like it to be the owner or better yet, the chef that cooked with Guy. That night I had to try the sandwich that Chris and Guy cooked on DDD. It was a delicious sandwich called "Potato Chip Encrusted Mahi-Mahi". The worst part of going to Scully's is DECIDING which menu item to try! You really can't go wrong!
In late February I took some time off work to make a trip out to Southern California to go an reconnect with Mickey and his friends at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim and also try some places that I saw on DDD. All I'll say about my Disney trip is that although my favorite Disney park is Epcot in Florida, Disneyland is a very close second! I have found a really inexpensive hotel chain in California called "Good Nite Inn" and they have a location near Disney and at about 40 bucks a night it makes it much more affordable to take a quick Disney trip, it's no frills but really fits the bill. On the way from LAX to Anaheim I stopped for breakfast in a town called San Pedro, which is where the Port of Los Angeles is located and also home to the Gaffey Street Diner. On the show Guy met and cooked with a husband a wife team that are making some really good food. Their specialty is Eggs Benedict and so that's what I got. The real kicker is the ham slab is larger than the two english muffins that it sits on! Unfortunately I did not get to meet the owners but the signature thing was still pretty new. After a day at the park I decided to drive about 30 minutes from the park to a small town called Gardena. In the middle of the road on a divided street sits "JB's Barbecue". JB's is strictly a carry-out place (although there are a few picnic tables, but it was dark so I took my meal back to the hotel). As I ordered I noticed that the main cook was eyeing my DDD book. He asked about it and as we chatted I remembered him from the show, he was the son of the owner and mian cook at JB's! He signed the book and made me a very good Memphis style rib dinner. JB's owner, Beverly Neeley, is the sister of Memphis barbecue legend Big Jim Neeley owner of Interstate Barbecue, I think they are also related to the Food Network host of "Downhome Cooking with the Neeleys." If you are in Gardena you should make a stop at JB's. The next morning before heading to Disney for my second day on my two-day ticket I drove to Long Beach to try a place called "Schooner or Later". On the show Guy didn't drive up in his usual 1967 Red Camaro but cruised in in a Boston Whaler boat. Schooner is on the waterfront in Long Beach. Most of the seating is outdoors but I got there so early that I sat inside and got the famous egg dish called "Schulzies Mess". The 'Mess" is a huge mixture of eggs, peppers, onions, cheese, etc, that reminded me or my grandmothers favorite lunch! If you decide to vist 'Schooner' get there early or plan to wait. After two days with Mickey, I moved up the coast to visit with my cruise buddy, Leslie in Santa Monica and stopped in Venice Beach along the way to try "Baby Blues Barbecue". They cook all types of barbecue at Baby Blues, but it was pretty different than JB's. The real great dish at Baby Blues is the Mac and Cheese. If you get nothing else get the Mac and Cheese! Parking can be tough around the restaurant but worth the visit!
In April I decided to make a trip to visit Mickey, but this time in Florida. Ever since I saw two locations featured on DDD I said "I HAVE TO GO THERE!" I drove from Orlando to Sarasota to the Alpine Steakhouse. Alpine is a restaurant that has the feel of a butcher shop. Their specialty is TURDUCKEN! If you are not sure what that is, it's a chicken stuffed in a duck which is stuffed in a turkey. At Alpine they debone all three birds and layer the meats with a stuffing binder. I was familiar with Turducken and here was my chance to try it! I got to meet the owner and he told me that the way Guy found his place was that Guy sends to his parents a Turducken each year and was using a shop in Jacksonville, FL. As it happened that shop closed and he was led to Alpine. Guy decided that he wanted to feature Alpine on DDD and they called and the owner was skeptical so until he had researched and seen the show he resisted. It is one of my favorite episodes! After a turducken lunch it was on the Pasadena, FL which is south of St. Petersburg and a place called "Ted Peter's Famous Smoked Fish". Peters has an indoor area to eat but most of the seating is outdoors and in back of the kitchen area are several smoke houses where many types of fish are smoked but Florida Grouper is by far the best seller. I got the Smoked Fish spread. It came with crackers and was very tasty, I was still pretty full from the Turducken, but I figure that someday I'll get back there for a full Smoked Fish meal!
I now can officially say that I had the fever, Ted Peters was location number 23!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
DDD - The early days!
As I continued to go form place to place, I realized that I may not be good at many things but may I am pretty good at eating! Throughout the fall and winter of 2008/2009 I continued to travel around and try the more local places that were on the show. Around Labor Day 2008 I drove up to Baltimore to check out 3 places that were featured. They were all pretty good and one, Chap's Pit Beef (on the Pulaski Highway) is a favorite. I have a hard time going through Baltimore with out stopping at Chap's. The most interesting thing about Chap's is that it really is a shack in the parking lot of a Gentleman's Club! The Roast Beef and Smoked Turkey sandwiches are phenomenal! On DDD the Chap's profile had Guy visiting along with "Ace of Cakes" star Duff Goldman. Bob the owner is always there and loves to talk about his place and all the TV pub he's gotten. Chap's has been on DDD as well as "Man vs. Food" and "No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain". I highly recommend it! Another real fun place in Baltimore is "The Blue Moon Cafe" in the Fells Point area. It is basically a breakfast joint and is in the lower lever of Chef-Owner Sara Simmington's home. I got there early so I didn't have to wait and got the specialty dish "Capt'n Cruch encrusted French Toast". It is worth the trip!
For my birthday in November 2008 I went to visit a friend in Scranton, PA and as we went into New York City we stopped for breakfast at a place in Jersey City, NJ called "The Brownstone Diner and Pancake Factory". They have over 31 flavors of pancakes as well as a full NJ Diner menu. I got the "Meat Pancakes" which are panckes stuffed with bacon and reminded me of breakfast at my grandmas. On a non-DDD note, for dinner I went to Peter Lugers in Brooklyn, they have the best steak, unbelieveable!
In December I took a roadtrip into the heart of the great Commonwealth of Virginia. In a day and a half I tried the Virginia Diner in Wakefield, the heart of Virginia's peanut country, Dot's Back Inn in Richmond and Captain Chuck-A-Mucks in the tiny town of Carrollton. If you head to the VA Diner watch out for speed traps and also go and visit the town of Smithfield which is nearby and learn all about the ham industry and the settling of the Virginia Colony. Captain Chuck-A-Mucks is hard to find but so worth it! The Crab Cakes and She Crab Soup is unreal, some of the best ever!
Ending 2008, I had visited 14 DDD locations and I was just getting started
For my birthday in November 2008 I went to visit a friend in Scranton, PA and as we went into New York City we stopped for breakfast at a place in Jersey City, NJ called "The Brownstone Diner and Pancake Factory". They have over 31 flavors of pancakes as well as a full NJ Diner menu. I got the "Meat Pancakes" which are panckes stuffed with bacon and reminded me of breakfast at my grandmas. On a non-DDD note, for dinner I went to Peter Lugers in Brooklyn, they have the best steak, unbelieveable!
In December I took a roadtrip into the heart of the great Commonwealth of Virginia. In a day and a half I tried the Virginia Diner in Wakefield, the heart of Virginia's peanut country, Dot's Back Inn in Richmond and Captain Chuck-A-Mucks in the tiny town of Carrollton. If you head to the VA Diner watch out for speed traps and also go and visit the town of Smithfield which is nearby and learn all about the ham industry and the settling of the Virginia Colony. Captain Chuck-A-Mucks is hard to find but so worth it! The Crab Cakes and She Crab Soup is unreal, some of the best ever!
Ending 2008, I had visited 14 DDD locations and I was just getting started
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
DDD - Away We Go!
One of my passions (along with trying new DDD joints) is taking cruises. I love to get away and get on a ship and see places and meet new friends. In June 2008 I booked a cruise on the Liberty of the Seas out of Miami with my older brother Tom, his family and friends and my cruise friend Jeanne. I arrived into the Miami area about 8 hours before Tom did, so I decided to rent a car and try a few DDD joints in the Miami area. I was very familiar with both places I visited as I had sen their episodes several times before making the trip. The first place was in Miami Beach called the 11th Street Diner. On the show Guy met up with Rosie O'Donnell and in the kitchen he cooked a pork chop dinner and also a Thanksgiving-style turkey dinner. The part of the episode I really remembered is that Guy was taken aback by the chef's use of "bonn appetite". The diner is a classic east coast silver train car style diner and as the legend goes, the diner was trucked down from Pennsylvania by the owners, who missed the diner-style restaurants they had grown up with. I decided that Thanksgiving had come early in 2008 so I chose the turkey. I remember that it was very filling and tasty. Afterwards I was off to the next place before having to pick up Tom and his wife Elaine and their daughter Rebekah at Miami Airport. I arrived at a place that looked pretty scary from the outside called Scully's Tavern. It may have looked scary at first but as I walked in I was warmly welcomed by the staff. This biker bar was FANTASTIC! I chose the food that chef-owner Chris had cooked on the DDD show, Escargot and Scampi Style Chicken Wings. The Escargot were great as were the wings, but after just eating at the 11th Street Diner, I took the wings to go. The thing that really impressed me about Scully's was how friendly and nice all the staff were. When I told me bartender-server how I had found Scully's he brought out the owner who thanked me for making the trip. I asked my server if he had been there for the DDD taping and he told me that he had a job BECAUSE of the taping, as business had gone up 400% due to the show. I knew that this would not be the last time I would visit Scully's!
I had a great time on the cruise, too!
I had a great time on the cruise, too!
Getting started
Hi All!
A few people have asked me to document my travels with respect to visitng places that have been featured on a show on The Food Network called "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" as I start this I have already been to 152 locations that have been on the show. The show is hosted by Chef Guy Fieri, who won the second season of a show called "The Next Food Network Star". "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" (or DDD) premiered in 2007 and is one of the networks top shows. I have been watching it from the beginning and started to go to the different places in the summer of 2008, trying a few at a time, but last August they featured a couple from Michigan who had reached their 100th visit. At the time I had been to about 70 so I decided that I wanted to get to the 100 level, too! In the next few blogs I will tryn to relate some of the early visits I have made (depending on how well my memory is!).
My first DDD visit was on Memorial Day 2008 to the Village Inn in Richmond, VA. My buddy Barry and I had spent the day doing a Minor League baseball day seeing an afternoon game in Woodbridge, Virginia and then doing a night game in Richmond. In between we stopped at the Village Inn. The Inn is located on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and my real memory of that is a smoky, college bar. I don't remember what I ate, but I did enjoy it and didn't realize what the next few years would bring me in visiting so many very cool places around the country.
Stay tuned! The adventure is just beginning.....
A few people have asked me to document my travels with respect to visitng places that have been featured on a show on The Food Network called "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" as I start this I have already been to 152 locations that have been on the show. The show is hosted by Chef Guy Fieri, who won the second season of a show called "The Next Food Network Star". "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" (or DDD) premiered in 2007 and is one of the networks top shows. I have been watching it from the beginning and started to go to the different places in the summer of 2008, trying a few at a time, but last August they featured a couple from Michigan who had reached their 100th visit. At the time I had been to about 70 so I decided that I wanted to get to the 100 level, too! In the next few blogs I will tryn to relate some of the early visits I have made (depending on how well my memory is!).
My first DDD visit was on Memorial Day 2008 to the Village Inn in Richmond, VA. My buddy Barry and I had spent the day doing a Minor League baseball day seeing an afternoon game in Woodbridge, Virginia and then doing a night game in Richmond. In between we stopped at the Village Inn. The Inn is located on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and my real memory of that is a smoky, college bar. I don't remember what I ate, but I did enjoy it and didn't realize what the next few years would bring me in visiting so many very cool places around the country.
Stay tuned! The adventure is just beginning.....
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